Tears Within the Glass
by lemmycrichton
Summary: FOREWORD This story is the result of a personal story-jam to write an original science-fiction novelette to be exhibited for free, with zero dialogue, more questions than answers, minimal handholding and to be open to interpretation. From what I could see in the forums, FFnet accepts original non-FF stories? Reviews and feedback are welcome. Thanks. lemmycrichton
1. Chapter 1

In the beginning there was silence and darkness. Time passed. Things changed. Light was unveiled. Silence was lost. An awakening…

Beams of soft blue light slowly illuminated a network of organic roots that crept across looming walls with an aisle in between. The structure was made of weathered wood and rusty metal, while the root buds began to bloom and glow in different colours.

The walls stirred, groaning, waking, before thousands of doors opened and exposed their contents to the unknown.

Of the wealth of flora and fauna, one specimen per container, a multitude of creatures emerged into the aisle where their senses were vitalised by the array of life and environmental stimuli.

 _Something from nothing?_


	2. Chapter 2

The brown wooden blocks slotted together with the red iron framework, creating different sized containers that interlaced like an enormous puzzle.

A network of pipes ran through every container, supplying food, water, temperature and other such nourishment to the ecosystem. Although there were only two giraffes present, the aisle was as long as thirty, tall as ten then half as wide.

It was the microcosm of life within the macrocosm of architecture that gave the environment a pulse. Such diverse life sensed their new world in a flurry of intense exploratory and instinctual moments - curiosity, fight, flight and feeding.

The majority of species exhibited one male and one female, while those of transgender or for which gender was extraneous, there still remained only two. Just two of each, woken from separate containers and of which chance and haste brought only a few pairs together.

Creatures roamed the dominant aisle and off-shoot corridors but could not find a way out of the gargantuan chamber of chambers.


	3. Chapter 3

For many creatures the initial shock was intensified by memories piecing together of a time before this place. Amidst the furore they socialised, bonded, opposed, aggressed, shared, evaded, murdered, desired and ate.

It was in the fibre of their being to thrive and survive in the grand but corralling space, with its teased promises.

Certain species' were more inclined or capable of constructive feats, whether innately, learned, accidental or a spectrum thereof.

A particular hairless biped with charcoal coloured skin, a phallus between muscled thighs and emerald green eyes showed advanced abilities - agility, contemplative planning and manipulation of tools and of the environment. A human male.

Although vocally subdued, his mind was full of synaptic ignitions battling to form succinct thoughts and ideas.

He sampled fruits, nuts and a caterpillar from the smattering of plants, admiring their qualities. He performed experiments on the structure - breaking, tasting, feeling, devouring, smelling and adjusting - for better or worse.

He broke off a glowing bud and drank the phosphorescent gloop inside causing him to vomit violently, an act he did not repeat. When removed from their stem the glow would slowly leak and dissipate.

As the man watched the birds buzzing about the lofty heights of the aisle, he followed one with a wingspan matching his outstretched arms as it flew into a source of blue light, not to return.

As the bluish light suffused the man's face, he imagined gliding like a feathery bird then crawling the wall like a salamander then bounding into the light like a kangaroo.

Imagination turned fright into fascination.

He scaled the containment wall, over pipes, roots, frames and gnarly wood, glimpsing containers full of weird and wonderful exhibits as he went - bat, elm, chimpanzee, orchid, sloth and other peculiarities.

The cones of light came from numerous embrasures, larger on the outside and narrowing with depth, though they proved teasingly too narrow to enter.

As he reached the daring heights of the chamber, the luminous organic buds highlighted the metal and wood that seamlessly intersected with the ceiling.

He crawled into a particularly spacious embrasure where the intense light enveloped him. The surface had a rubbery texture that gripped the soles of his feet as he stood up.

His breathing heightened and cold sweat speckled his skin as he walked deeper into the portal to explore the unknown.


	4. Chapter 4

Twenty shuffled footsteps later, the man's dazzled eyesight adjusted into a panoramic view of fluffy white clouds, crisp blue sky and lush green fields stretching as far as the eye could see.

Unlike the interior ambience of phosphorescent organics and blue light, the exterior was enveloped in a mild temperate light cast from far above.

The spongy texture beneath his bare feet changed to coarse metal and wood of an enormous platform. The foreground was the familiar jutting red metal frames and brown wooden blocks. In the middle of the enormous rectangular top deck was a tower.

As the man explored the immense deck he soon found the edge and a long drop into, not lush green fields, but an ocean. Peering over the side revealed five decks below, each a little wider than the one above and as tall as two giraffes.

The five decks above the water level was the total height of the entire containment chamber. Despite the awesome scale of the structure, the world beyond took his breath away.

He surmised that the structure was a stationary or floating structure, a facility, a rig.

The omnipresent light source reflected its warmth off the glassy water, creating a humid climate which dashed his naked body with rivulets of sweat.


	5. Chapter 5

As the man explored the lower decks using the steps and slopes he noticed that the rig had a uniform appearance of material, shape and embrasures. Occasional clusters of exhaust pipes expelled all manner of muck, fluids, foods and gases, some more sinister than others.

Passing one outlet saw cold and hot air buffet the man, tickling his tiny body hairs and causing the sweat to cascade across his skin.

A gaseous expulsion seared his flesh, which he recoiled from, while other chemicals made him smile, light-headed, tingle and retch respectively.

Along the sides of the bottom deck were dozens of wooden objects floating in the water, tethered by thick rope to the platform. Somehow he knew they were rowing boats. Moored. A python was using one of the boats as a cosy nest to bathe in the heat.

The sensory nourishment had the man flitting from one thing to the next. The air was dry and still, the water was calm and he felt no movement from the rig. The coarse yellow hair growing from his scalp, face and pubic regions made him a little anxious.

The wealth of visuals sparked the almost continuous stream of fragmented imagery in his mind – a roaring waterfall, leaves blowing in his face and a blazing star melting his flesh.

He was unsure what he had just experienced, but whatever it was - visions, dreams, hallucinations - felt like echoes.

Despite the swell of life thriving to escape containment, he felt remarkable solitude and loneliness.

He was able to peer through various embrasures, some narrower on the surface and opening into large cones on the inside. The light outside was being focussed through the windows and into the immense chamber.

Thousands of life-forms mingled within, oblivious to the expansive world beyond, while others would eventually escape the confines to experience what he had, albeit with different interpretations.

The man felt superior for having made it into the light of the sky, give or take the winged ones or insect wall crawlers. His confidence was only shaken by a bulky black and silver haired primate in the distance scratching its rear, a frighteningly large snake swallowing a sizeable feline and a pair of squirrels that jumped off the deck edge and glided to a lower tier using impressive membranous wings.

Allies. Enemies. Competition.


End file.
